Hello, Jalapeno Lover! Spring is on the way! You know what that means? It is time to start thinking about those gardens! How exciting! Many of you have already started seedlings and garden prep, depending on your location. Whatever those plans are, I hope they include jalapeno peppers. Cheers!

Beer! Cheese! And jalapeno peppers! Yes! This is a lot of exclamation points. Sorry, but we're just a bit excited about this gooey, cheese dip that is great for any party, but also can do double duty as your next nacho cheese sauce. Bring on the chips!

Looking for a change for your crab claws? Try this simple roasted jalapeno pepper sauce recipe. It only uses four ingredients and whips up quickly. You can serve it as a dip, like we did here for our crab claws, or you can serve it as a sauce. It works great on tacos, burritos, enchiladas, just about anything with a Mexican flair.

St. Patrick's Day is on the way, and we know you're already looking for traditional recipes to prepare for the family or for your big gathering. In the U.S., St. Patrick's Day is a traditional party day, with green beer pretty much everywhere, but it's also a traditional foodie day. We're happy for that! Both Patty and I are part Irish, so we're very familiar with many of the staples you'll find this time of year - corned beef and cabbage, beef stew, shepherd's pie, pasties. Pasties! I was introduced to pasties by my father up near Iron Mountain, Michigan. Talk about traditional! I digress...

This guacamole is so...darned...creamy! When you start with avocados that are so awesomely, perfectly ripe, your guacamole will turn out uber creamy anyway, but if you're looking for an extra nudge for an even CREAMIER guacamole, this recipe will nail it for you. The real key is crema. I'm talking the Mexican crema, not sour cream. I include "or sour cream" in the ingredient list below, and sour cream will work for you, but sour cream does have a, well, "sour" flavor to it, which affects the overall flavor of the resulting guacamole. I prefer crema.

It's time to banish the chill from this wintry air and warm the bones. The temperatures have been dropping in our area, down into single digits in the evening, and it's hard to shake that chill from your innards once it settles in. Cranking up the heat helps, but there is nothing like that blooming warmth that starts from within, from a hot homemade meal.

Get ready for a super quick lunch! And a healthy one, too, if you watch your fixin's. This is why we like to keep certain meal components on hand through the week, like Pico de Gallo, and a homemade taco seasoning. Since Patty and I work from home and have certain crazy-busy days, we need fast lunch options. This recipe is even faster than running out for a quick sandwich.

Taco night is awesome. Whether it's Taco Tuesday, a super quick meal at the end of a long day, or simply your favorite dish, tacos are something the whole family can enjoy. If you've ever bought taco seasoning from the grocery store, I'm sure you've found that there are so many different blends. No two seasoning blends are alike. You find your favorite brands and stick to them. I used to buy seasonings, but found myself using them only as a base. I would add in a touch of this, a bit more of that, throw in some fresh herbs, garlic, whatever I felt would enhance the overall taco seasoning blend.

These are the days we're super glad we had a garden over the summer and fall. We still have a bit of frozen fresh green tomato-pepper sauce in the freezer, and it was perfect for a quick dinner sauce. This is a typical night in the Madness household. We both love salmon and since we both work full time, I will often thaw some quickly and whip together something new and unique as either a side or for the sauce. Have you ever had those nights, staring into the refrigerator, wondering what the heck to make? I say Salmon! It's a huge go-to in our house. It is very healthy, delicious, and easy to prepare. Love that.

My father-in-law LOVES anchovies. And he LOVES olives. And he LOVES capers. I wasn’t a fan of these growing up. Over the years I have acquired a taste for many an ingredient, including the ones my father-in-law loves. Long ago when I first married his daughter, he sat me down and said I needed to try anchovies. I grimaced and kicked up a fuss but he told me you can’t really judge a food if you haven’t tried it in the proper application. Turns out he was right. I first tried the anchovy by itself and my first impression was, “Hey, it tastes like a salty piece of fish that’s been left out to go rancid”. But then I tried it on pizza. It wasn’t so bad. Actually, it was pretty good. That was years ago. I've acquired the taste for a good anchovy pizza. What can I say?

Turkey turkey turkey. Ground turkey. Patty and I used to cook with ground beef all the time until we noticed our waistlines were growing a bit more than we liked. This was years ago, and while we still enjoy ground beef, we wind up cooking more often with ground turkey because of the calories. I thought it might be a challenge since ground turkey has a completely different flavor from beef. Beef has all that wonderful fat content which is so satisfying on its own.

Patty and I have at home what we call "Quick Lunch Days". You all know we hugely enjoy running Chili Pepper Madness, but we also work full time at Quist Interactive, building web sites, running ad campaigns, and I'm also a writer and I'm typically in the middle of a screenplay or some other story. Suffice it to say, some days are busier than others. This recipe is a result of one of those busy days, needing a lunch fast. We could have run out to the local taco joint or grabbed a sandwich, but why? When I look in the refrigerator and find awesome ingredients like collard greens and huge red beets, I just want to cook them up.

As Patty and I were walking through the local farmer's market the other day, we came upon a booth with a TON of chili peppers. Talk about heaven! I got to dust off some of my Spanish and picked up some gorgeous Long Red Cayenne peppers. We got a huge bag for a buck. Lucky! Check these out.

Valentine's Day is over, but these recipes can help for anytime you need ideas for a romantic evening. Do you have your dinner plans set? Are you making reservations? No! Stay at home and make something homemade for your lover. There is nothing more romantic than a home cooked meal. Well, maybe there are a few things, but cooking from the heart is toward the top of the list.

Check out these gorgeous red and green jalapeno peppers we picked up from the market the other day. Talk about perfection. They were screaming my name, and can you believe I got all of these for a buck? Yep, jalapeno peppers are amazing, plain and simple.

As we're hanging out near the beach, I've been thinking about sitting on a blanket in the sand for brunch. What better way to relax than to sit in the sun and stare at the water with nothing to care about except enjoying your meal. I didn't want to make a big production out of it. It would have been difficult for us to cart out plates and toppings and meals with multiple components. I wanted something easy to prepare and eat and settled on quiche. I was originally thinking of making a cheese tart, maybe with asparagus, but I thought lighter would be better in this case.

100+ classic and original jalapeno popper and stuffed chili pepper recipes and more! If you love jalapeno poppers, you'll love this collection of recipes with notes on coring, breading, sauces, stuffing ideas and more, along with unique recipes and those you've seen in restaurants.

Here are some reviews:

"Never fails another great cook book. The recipies are simple and great detail is given on each one. if you are a Chilihead you will LOVE the book"

"All of Michael's jalapeno recipe books are wonderful. This one has lots of great ideas for stuffed jalapenos and poppers. We eat a lot of jalapenos at my house and my husband particularly loves stuffed jalapenos. I am always looking for new ways to cook them. This book is filled with lots of ideas. I usually cook mine on the grill but am planning to try some of his baked poppers and "armadillo eggs". There are also recipes for stuffing other types of peppers, including bell peppers and many other types of peppers. I have been looking for more good recipes for Poblano peppers and there are some that look tasty in this book."

"The book was everything I needed, great recipes, easy to follow and the ones I've already made were yum, yum, yum"

"I purchased this along with a stainless chili pepper roasting rack for my dad for Christmas--he is the grill pro in our family. He absolutely loves it and has already picked several recipe ideas for Super Bowl Sunday. Great book!! "